


You Are the Wind Beneath My Sails

by quiet__tiger



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Crack, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 10:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10852053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet__tiger/pseuds/quiet__tiger
Summary: Bruce and the boys stuck on a sailboat.





	You Are the Wind Beneath My Sails

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "In The Doldrums."
> 
> Originally posted to Livejournal 17th-Jan-2013.

“No.”

“Bruce, come _on_. It’s been two days, and you’ve been ignoring the seriousness of the situation.”

“I don’t care, Dick. The wind will pick up soon and we’ll be on our way.”

Tim glared at Damian as he said, “Maybe if you hadn’t let the pipsqueak steer, we wouldn’t have gone off course.”

Drawing himself up to his full if negligible height, Damian retorted, “It is an open ocean and no one informed me there was a region that had no wind for our great sailboat.”

Dick tried again. “Bruce. Let’s just do it and get back to Gotham. The kids have school--” there was an indignant ‘hey’ from both Tim and Damian, “and someone’s eventually going to notice you’re not in your office.”

Staring balefully at the horizon a long ways away, Tim muttered, “ _Vacation_. I can’t believe this thing doesn’t have an engine.”

Sighing, Bruce said, “It’s an old yacht. Sailing is a valuable skill. I hadn’t realized we’d be stranded by calm seas. The wind will pick up eventually, and I won’t have to call in and ask for help.”

Dick ruffled Damian’s hair, which earned him a growl and a kick to the shin. “Too bad we aren’t the Howells. At least we’d have plenty of junk along to entertain ourselves with. Right, Lovey?” He made a kissy face at Tim, who kicked his foot out towards Dick’s other shin. “Tough room. I’m not the one who got us stuck.”

Turning back to the water, Tim answered, “No, you’re just the one making it difficult.”

“Oh please, I’m not the one--”

“ _Enough_.” Dick, Tim, and Damian looked at Bruce expectantly, knowing he couldn’t really do anything to punish them on the ship. It wasn’t quite big enough to do serious training. Sighing, Bruce conceded. “Fine. One more day for the wind to pick up, and if it doesn’t, I’ll call.”

“Deal.”

~*~

Twenty-four hours later, Bruce used his Justice League communicator to send out a signal, and did his damndest not to look Superman in the eye after he arrived. Or as he pushed the sailboat from its stern. Or as the boys thanked him once they were in windy territory and he gave them each one of his strong handshakes. Or as he wished them well as he flew off.

It was later, back in Gotham, after Bruce was back in his beloved cave, that he acknowledged Clark, whom Alfred had let downstairs. “Thank you for helping the boys. Though I would have come up with a solution at some point if I didn’t have to listen to arguments and physical fights.”

“It’s toughing having a bunch of kids, all boys, right?”

“You have no idea. It’s like trying to run the League only more hormonal, except at least Diana can help with the adults.”

“I’m always glad to help.”

“I know. Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.”

Bruce could just about hear Clark rolling his eyes.


End file.
